At-large City Councilor Justin Hurst said Thursday that there's a stronger case for Mayor Domenic Sarno not to renew the contract of Police Commissioner John Barbieri than for Fire Commissioner Joseph Conant.

(Don Treeger / The Republican [file])

SPRINGFIELD -- At-large City Councilor Justin Hurst said Thursday that the mayor has "fired the wrong commissioner."

In a press release, Hurst questioned Mayor Domenic J. Sarno's "bizarre firing" of Fire Commissioner Joseph Conant, referring to Sarno's announcement on New Year's Day that he will not be renewing Contant's contract next January.

"Mayor Sarno fired the wrong Commissioner!" Hurst said in the release. "Police Commissioner John Barbieri has made far worse decisions when it comes to managing his department than Fire Commissioner Conant has and yet he (Barbieri) received overwhelming support from the Mayor."

Sarno has not stated his reasons for not renewing Conant's contract, but the announcement came two days after Sarno criticized Conant for failing to discipline Deputy Fire Chief Glenn Guyer for failing to move to Springfield in one year.

Hurst, when asked by The Republican if he was suggesting that Barbieri should be fired, said: "If the grounds for firing Commissioner Conant were based solely on his failure to discipline Deputy Guyer, then there is a much stronger case for the firing of Commissioner Barbieri. Based on the many glaring mistakes that Barbieri has made, he should already have faced the same fate."

Hurst alleged that Barbieri "has done far more damage to the City than Commissioner Conant will ever have the opportunity to do."

"Whether it was Commissioner Barbieri's fear to fire Detective Bigda who embarrassed the entire department and ultimately will cost tax payers' money in litigation, his inability to make personnel decisions without consulting with the City's Solicitor who in recent months has shown a tendency to give advice that supports the Mayor's agenda at the expense of the city, his choice to not make the public privy to information that would have eased the tensions between the community and its Police Department, or his overall failure to take responsibility for the mishaps of his department that should come naturally with good leadership, Commissioner Barbieri has done far more damage to this City than Commissioner Conant will ever have the opportunity to do," Hurst wrote.

Detective Gregg Bigda is accused of threatening to crush the skulls of two juveniles and threatening to plant drug evidence during a videotaped incident, while the juveniles were held by Palmer police in connection with the theft of a Springfield police car.

Barbieri suspended Bigda for 60 days after conferring with the Law Department, drawing criticism from Hurst and some other councilors.

Hurst added: "The bizarre firing of Commissioner Conant coupled with a recent peculiar release from the Mayor's office praising the efforts of Captain Larry Brown who oversees the Internal Investigations Unit, appear to be nothing more than a smoke screen by the Mayor's administration to distract citizens from the many issues plaguing the Springfield Police Department. Unfortunately, citizens now must wait until the conclusion of the Department of Justice Investigations to understand exactly why such distractions were deemed necessary by the administration."

In October, Hurst said Barbieri should be "stripped of his disciplinary duties" for his failure to fire Bigda.